Long before Roberto Carlos and Juninho, there was Nelinho. In the third-place match at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, the Brazilian right-back hit a free kick against Italy that swerved so much it looked like a glitch in the picture. The ball set off towards the corner flag, then bent back and flew into the net.
In goal for Italy was Dino Zoff, one of the finest keepers the game has produced. He barely moved.
Was this the first banana free kick?
It is widely considered one of the first at a World Cup. Nelinho struck it from wide on the right, using the outside of his boot, and the swerve he got on it took the ball past Zoff from an angle that looked close to impossible.
Brazil won the match 2-1 against a strong Italian team. The goal pointed the way to the swerving free kicks that Roberto Carlos and Juninho would later perfect.
What stands out now is the timing. This was before sports science and before video analysts, when few people really understood the physics of swerve. A full-back from Brazil worked it out anyway, and made one of the best goalkeepers in history look like a spectator.
Nelinho is rarely mentioned alongside the famous names of Brazilian football. On the evidence of that afternoon against Zoff, he deserves to be mentioned more often.
Tomorrow: number 20.
